Setagaya Line during the Boroichi Festival

[gmat]

The Boroichi Festival in Setagaya are held on the 15th and 16th of December and January . Here are some photos of how the Setagaya Line handle the crowds. They have activated the PASMO card readers at the Setagaya, Kamimachi and Yamashita Stations. The Seatagaya Station is close to the eastern edge of the festival and have readers on each platform. The Kamimachi Station is the closest station to the middle of the festival. The platform for Shimo-Takaido has the portable PASMO reader even though there is one of the old readers next to it.  Kamimachi Station proper has the ticket wickets. The line curves away from the Setagaya Dori towards Shimo-Takaido Station. At Yamashita Station, the line connects with the Odakyu Line at Gotokuji Station, so the platform heading towards Setagaya has a PASMO reader which is used. The opposite platform has no reader. Miyanosaka Station is the nearest station to Gotokuji Temple, the Maneneko 'cat doll' temple so the platform nearest the temple has a reader. Shoin-Jinja Station is nearest to the Shoinjinja Shrine so it also has readers on both sides of each platform. Both Shrines have heavy traffic during New Years as people come to pray. 

There are extra staff at the three stations to help people with using the readers, give directions, and control passengers getting on the trains. Many Tokyu security guards help with traffic control at the crossings.  At the Kamimachi and Yamashita Stations, there are route maps above the station sign and on the platform to help passengers know which platform to use. The usual route maps are on the side and apparently not easy to see in the crowds. All except the Orange tram 309 are being used and the extra trams help to make sure that long lines are avoided and that the trams are not overcrowded. Sometimes the trams will wait a bit to allow a few more passengers to get on. The maintenance barn at Kamimachi was shuttered and the Orange tram 309 parked next to it. Last Friday and Saturday, I shot 309 doing test runs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taken one week ago.

 

 

 

 

More later.

Grant

 

Edited December 15, 2017 by gmat
add extra photo

[gmat]

Crowd entering Kamimachi Station Proper. 

 

Ticket wickets in the station. Tokyu security guards have the red patch on the arm.

 

 

 

If you look closely on the right side platform, the nearer route map is secured with cords.There is another one further up the platform. 

 

The maintenance car barn at Kamimachi Station.

 

The Setagaya Line staff do an excellent job helping the crowds of visitors during the festival.

Tomorrow promises to be rainy. Possibly I'll walk along Boroichi before 7:00 to shoot some pictures.

 

Grant

Edited December 15, 2017 by gmat

[gmat]

Some photos that I took yesterday.

 

Poster for the Boroichi Festival. I've never watched the Fireman's Acrobatic Demonstration. You can see why later.

 

Rinji means special, I believe, so I guess it means special card reader. You can see the first two kanji on special trains. This was at the Setagaya Station.

 

 

Also next to Setagaya Station was this booth. It has Tokyu goods. Why?

By the way, they were very kind and one man posed when I asked if I could take a picture.

 

They were using this lot for some portable toilets. 

 

The sign says that it is a material storage lot. It says Setagaya #1 Material Storage Lot. It is owned by the Tokyu Corporation, (Tokyo Kyuko Dentetsu Kabushiki-gaisha) that runs the Setyagaya Line. When workers use a vehicle to travel to parts of the line, they will park here and walk along the tracks. During the recent replacement of ties and ballast, the material was stored here. 

 

 

The back entrance to the far side Kamimachi Station platform. 

 

They had another PASMO reader here.

 

Due to the influx of visitors from other areas, the Setagaya Line Staff manned the stations and spent lots of time helping people with directions.

 

Or showing them where to use their cards. I guess that either SUICA or PASMO cards were acceptable.

 

I went back to Yamashita Station to get details that I had missed.

 

A better shot of the route map explaining which stations to get off. This one is made of fabric/plastic.

 

The other one on the platform proper was metal.

 

Only one side was used. I missed it, but there there appears to be another at the Setagaya Station but it was faced towards people leaving the station. 

 

I didn't notice that the Yamashita had another portable PASMO reader. 

 

 

But today the fixed reader wasn't turned on. (Actually it is)

 

Orange 309 still wasn't used. It might have a problem that made them leery of using it. 

 

Grant

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2017 by gmat

[gmat]

Some shots of Boroichi. There are better shots, so I just took a few. I didn't make it before it opened that morning.

Crowds familiar to any who lived in Japan and visited any very popular event. The Iruma Air Base Family Day with the Blue Impulse Demonstration Team performing come to mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grant

[gmat]

This year each station has two Nostalgia Posters, one on each platform. I notice a few that have been changed, but others aren't.

Some have some very interesting photos of the early days of the line and its predecessors.

 

 

 

If someone wants, I'll make a separate thread showing the posters and each photo.

 

Grant

Edited December 16, 2017 by gmat

[Kiha66]

Thanks for shareing all of these great pictures grant!  Only in japan would there be a sign explaining a vacant lot, reminds me of those "this page intentionally left blank" you sometimes see on test booklets and official documents.  The festival looks like a fun event, I'd like to visit it someday. 

[gmat]

The lot is actually the property of the Tokyo Corporation which runs the Setagaya Line. It is used for as parking for vehicles used by MOW workers when working this stretch of the line. There is another before Miyanosaka Station. I don't remember any closer to Shimo-Takaido or Sangenjaya Stations. Will check later. I updated the  picture and added one more showing the  inside of the lot.

 

Grant